I am a North Carolinian by birth and by choice. I grew up in a small town near Charlotte, and now live not too far from Chapel Hill. I had a not-so-wonderful grade school education, and a very decent education in college.

I've seen comments recently that have struck a nerve with me, about literacy and education and North Carolina in general. Some were positive, some were negative, and one was just plain bizarre. Some of the comments included other parts of the South, but I will focus on the North Carolina I know and love in this, which is my answer to the comments.

In my lifetime, I have witnessed the rise in literacy levels in this state, and the rise in education. There are differences in the meanings of those two words. Is there still too much ignorance around? Yes. And that's sad. But the spread of the community college system in the state, along with community outreach efforts by the campuses of the University of North Carolina System, will continue to bring more and more ideas to the populace, and in ways the populace can swallow---a bit at the time, not huge, choking chunks.